Live World Athletics Indoor Championships TV & Broadcast Schedule

The World Athletics Indoor Championships return March 20-22, 2027, and this time the global track and field community is heading somewhere unexpected — Apia, Samoa. This marks the first time the event will be held in Oceania and only the second time outside Europe or North America. The Apia Park Sports Complex is being upgraded to host 26 events over three days, with morning and evening sessions scheduled to accommodate global broadcast windows. For the first time, the championships will feature mixed 4x400m relay on the indoor circuit, following its success at outdoor worlds. The time zone difference (UTC+13) means morning finals for American viewers and evening action for fans in Asia and Australia.

Top athletes to watch

The indoor season builds toward Samoa as the ultimate March target. Mondo Duplantis hasn't confirmed his indoor schedule yet, but if he shows up, the pole vault world record is always in play. On the women's side, keep an eye on Keely Hodgkinson — she's been open about wanting the indoor 800m world record of 1:55.82. The men's 3000m should be another classic with Josh Kerr, Yared Nuguse, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen all potentially lining up. Newly crowned Olympic medalists from Paris 2024 are expected to use this as a championship tune-up ahead of the outdoor World Championships in Beijing later that September. The US women's 60m hurdles is absolutely loaded, and Samoa's first-ever world athletics finalist — likely in the 200m or 400m — will have the home crowd behind them.

Prize money

World Athletics keeps the same prize structure for indoors as outdoors. Individual gold medalists take home $40,000 USD, silver gets $20,000, and bronze earns $10,000. Payouts extend down to sixth place at $4,000. Relay teams split identical amounts. There's also a $50,000 bonus for any world record broken during the three days in Apia. The total prize purse sits just over $2.4 million, which is serious money for a sport where most athletes aren't pulling NBA-level salaries.

Viewership

The Samoa time zone presents challenges, but broadcasters are adapting. The 2024 edition in Glasgow averaged around 1.5 million viewers per session in the US alone. Global reach across 150+ countries is the norm for World Athletics Series events. The move to Oceania is a deliberate push to grow the sport in the Pacific region, and local organizers expect sellout crowds at the refurbished Apia Park. For hardcore track fans, this is the only global indoor championship of the year, and they'll find a way to watch regardless of the hour.

Streaming options

Where you stream depends entirely on where you live. For viewers in the Middle East and North Africa (24 countries), beIN Sports holds exclusive rights through 2027 and will carry full coverage of the Apia championships [citation:4][citation:6]. In Ethiopia and other Sub-Saharan African markets, Hagerie TV secured free-to-air rights for all World Athletics Series events through 2029 [citation:2]. For viewers in countries without a local broadcast partner — and there will be many — World Athletics+ offers free streaming with just a free account registration. No subscription fee, no blackouts, just a clean feed of every session.

TV options in the US and Canada

The time difference from Samoa to North America is brutal — Apia is 17 hours ahead of US Eastern Time. That means evening sessions in Samoa air early morning in North America. Broadcast details for the 2027 Indoor Championships haven't been finalized yet, but the pattern from previous years tells you what to expect. In the US, look for coverage on NBC Sports and Peacock to continue — NBC holds World Athletics rights through 2029. In Canada, CBC Gem has traditionally carried World Athletics events and should do so again for Samoa. Check local listings about a month out, but expect early morning live coverage with primetime replays.

International viewing

Global access is better than ever for the 2027 edition. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) distributes World Athletics rights across Europe — check your local public broadcaster (BBC in the UK, ARD/ZDF in Germany, France Télévisions, etc.). Australian viewers should watch 9Now, which has been the consistent home for World Athletics events. For fans in Asia outside the beIN footprint, World Athletics+ is likely your best option. The one catch: Samoa's internet infrastructure will be tested by a global broadcast, so expect possible stream quality variance. Have a backup plan if you're watching from a region without a dedicated broadcaster — World Athletics+ is the official fallback and works everywhere.

Current build-up

As of May 2026, the indoor season hasn't kicked off yet — the World Indoor Tour typically starts in January 2027 with meets in Karlsruhe, Boston, and Toruń serving as qualifiers for Apia. Athletes need to hit qualifying standards or secure enough World Rankings points to get the invite. The entry deadline will fall in late February 2027. This championships also serves as a key indoor title ahead of the outdoor World Championships in Beijing scheduled for September 11-19, 2027 [citation:1][citation:7]. For fans planning to attend in person, ticket information should drop around December 2026 through the Samoa Athletics Association website.